FOUR DECADES ago, when California voters trusted political leaders, they agreed to a series of “reforms” that were supposed to make the Legislature more effective — to make lawmakers full-time public employees.

Almost none of the supposed benefits of the reforms came true. One could argue they had the opposite effect, making the Legislature less responsive, more disconnected from reality and more beholden to special interests.

One of voters’ minor decrees was that the Legislature would operate on a biennial system, convening on the first Monday in December after each election. That’s why lawmakers, returnees and an unusual number of newbies will be in Sacramento for two or three days this week before recessing until January.

The theory behind the calendar change was that having convened in December, legislators could start introducing bills that, by constitutional law, must be in print for 30 days before any action is taken on them. Thus, so voters were told, their representatives could come back into session in January and immediately begin doing the public’s work, thus avoiding last-minute logjams later in the year.

Yeah, right. This “reform” came to less than nothing. Legislators don’t act on bills in January, and usually not in February or March either. They procrastinate under the guise of thoughtful consideration, waiting for lobbyists and legislative leaders to sort out matters for them, staging fundraisers to pay off campaign debts and accumulate funds for their next elections, and in general enjoying themselves. And the last-minute logjams are as bad as ever.

The major effect of the brief December session is to get lawmakers on the payroll, so they can begin collecting their salaries, hire staff and pick out their new cars. This week’s session will be long on ceremony — spouses and children will show up to watch lawmakers be sworn in — and lofty declarations of good intentions, and very short on substance.

That said, it is the official beginning of the 2007-08 session, so it’s an appropriate time to speculate on what may, or may not, happen in the months ahead.

The big question hanging is whether a newly re-elected Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, will continue his honeymoon with a very Democratic Legislature. Democrats decided to make it easier for Schwarzenegger to win re-election by helping him build a record this year, albeit mostly on issues that Democrats were pushing anyway, such as global warming and minimum wages.

Schwarzenegger wants to continue doing business on such issues as expanding health care among the working poor, fixing prison overcrowding and educational reform, but it’s unclear how far Democratic cooperation will extend. Health care is also a Democratic issue but Democrats stalled on prison construction and any major educational reforms.

There may be, as well, limits to Schwarzenegger’s willingness to compromise with Democrats on these and other issues now that he has a landslide re-election in his pocket. He has already said, for instance, that he would reject any tax increases to balance the state budget or finance health care expansion, and he has vetoed legislation to impose the health care burden on employers.

Perhaps the serendipity will continue. But it’s just as likely that stalemate will return. Regardless of what happens, legislators will collect their salaries that begin this week. In politics, there’s no correlation between performance and pay.